A “staggering” number of workers are exposed to a toxic cocktail of health risks linked to climate change and are not sufficiently protected by existing regulations, the UN warned on Monday.
Climate change caused by human activities is already having serious consequences on the health and safety of workers around the world, often the first to suffer the most harmful consequences, denounces the International Labor Organization (ILO) in a report titled Ensuring safety and health at work in times of climate change.
“A staggering number of workers are already exposed to climate change-related risks in their workplaces, and these numbers are likely to only get worse,” says the ILO.
Excessive heat is the most immediately noticeable threat. According to the ILO, almost 71% of the global workforce, or 2.4 billion workers, are likely to be exposed to excessive heat at some point during their work, explains the organization, which is based on data from 2020. Twenty years earlier, the proportion was 65.5%.
Heavy work, hot climates
In addition to excessive heat, farmworkers, road workers, construction workers and others who do heavy work in hot climates in particular may be exposed to a cocktail of hazards, the report says: ultraviolet radiation, air pollution air, vector-borne diseases (malaria or dengue fever, for example, whose geographical area is influenced by warming) and agrochemicals.
People working in hot indoor environments or poorly ventilated enclosed spaces are also at significant risk.
“Workers are among the most exposed to risks from climate change and yet they often have no choice but to continue working, even if conditions are dangerous,” the report said.
Nearly 23 million workplace accidents attributed to excessive heat are reported each year, and they cost around 19,000 lives per year, according to the ILO.
The report “notes that many health problems among workers have been linked to climate change, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, kidney dysfunction and mental health problems.”
For example, the ILO estimates that 1.6 billion workers worldwide are exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun each year and that more than 18,960 annual work-related deaths are due to non-melanoma skin cancer.
Adapt legislation
“It is clear that climate change is already creating significant additional health risks for workers,” Manal Azzi, head of the organization’s Occupational Safety and Health team, was quoted as saying in a statement.
“It is essential that we heed these warnings. Occupational safety and health considerations must be an integral part of our responses to climate change, whether in terms of policies or actions,” she emphasizes.
“Working in a safe and healthy environment is recognized as one of the ILO’s fundamental principles and rights at work. We must respect this commitment in the context of climate change, as in all other aspects of work,” argued Manal Azzi.
The ILO believes that evolving and intensifying climate change risks may require countries to reassess existing legislation or create new regulations and guidance to ensure adequate worker protection.